Re: What Should I Do On My First Trip?

Devote the majority of your limited time to Epcot & Animal Kingdom i.e. the two most unique parks to WDW.

Epcot

DON'T MISS:

- The new Spaceship Earth (not jealous at all......honest)
- Mission: SPACE (contrary to popular belief, the chances of death are slim)
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends (preferred by many to the subs)
- Living With the Land (for it's classic EPCOT-y goodness)
- Exploring World Showcase (there's half a day gone alone).......

- IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth for a moving end to the day...........

Obviously you can skip Soarin'.

Don't cry yourself to sleep if you miss Test Track.

I peronally love Ellen's Energy Adventure too but with limited time, a 40 minute attraction might not be your thing.

And avoid Journey into Your Imagination unless you want to be scarred for life.

Animal Kingdom

DON'T MISS:

- Expedition Everest (well, duh).......

- Kilimanjaro Safaris (early morning)............

- The various animal trails
- And what is, in my opinion, the single best thing at WDW at the minute......Finding Nemo: The Musical. I've run out of superlatives for this thing. Just go.........

I'd say skip the MK completely..........you being next door to Disneyland. Unless you have a big castle fetish.

Re: What Should I Do On My First Trip?

Well since you have such a short amount of time and you go to DL so much, you can probably just spend a few hours in MK. Epcot deserves a full day ot itself. If you wanted, you could probably do Animal Kingdom and MGM in the same day. I guess it really depends on which parks appeal to you.

As to attractions not to be missed, in Animal Kingdom I would say Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, Finding Nemo the Musical, Festival of the Lion King, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids. The animal trails, as well as the whole park, are great to explore but with such limited time, it's not possible.

In MGM, the highlights are Rock n' Roller Coaster, The Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror, and the Indiana Jones Stunt show. If time permits, I would also suggest Fantasmic, Star Tours, and Muppets 3D, but since these also exist in California, they could probably be skipped.

Re: What Should I Do On My First Trip?

Hello - I too am a west coaster (HB baby!) but I've been to WDW a few times.. so here is my advice...

If possible, get a park hopper, so you can see as much as you can.

If you go for 3 days, I suggest going to EPCOT one day, Disney Studios one day, and then Animal Kingdom one day, and when you finish seeing each of those parks, hop to the Magic Kingdom and see what you can there for the rest of the evening time that you have left. Then you can see the Magic Kingdom and do a few of the attractions they have there that we don't have at home.

EPCOT should be a top priority. (This might take the whole day, and you might not be able to hop to Magic Kingdom)
I recommend seeing:

Ellen's Universe of Energy (yes, long, but a neat EPCOT experience)
Spaceship Earth (I'm jealous, too!) ** Don't ride this first thing in the morning, the line is always shorter in the afternoon and evening.
TestTrack (Fast pass)
Mission Space
Living with the Land
The World Showcase - this will take a lot of time, there is just a lot to see. And eat.
(Maelstrom in Norway is fun boat ride, but short.)

*If you do get done early, I personally would not wait for Illuminations... I would hop to Magic Kingdom... but I know a lot of people would disagree with me!!!*

- Also, sometimes EPCOT stays open later then Magic Kingdom, so depending on your energy level you can pop over to EPCOT on another day after MK closes and see Illuminations then, if you want to. Also, from 7 - 9 is often a good time to ride Test Track, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth with short lines.

Animal Kingdom you can do in a half a day, and then hop to Magic Kingdom.
Don't miss:
Safari
Expedition Everest
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo (Haven't seen it yet, but I will next week!)

Don't Worry if you miss:
Kali River Rapids is similar to Grizzly River - Kali is shorter, and it is themed around Deforestation.
Dinosaur: If the line is short, it is interesting to ride to see another way the Indiana Jones ride mechanism is used, and to really appreciate our Indiana Jones, but don't worry if you miss it.

Disney Studios: half day, and then you can hop to Magic Kingdom
Don't miss:
Rockin' Roller Coaster (if you like coasters)
Tower of Terror - (I know we have one, now, but I really feel that Florida's is a different and superior experience.)
At least one of the stunt shows (Indy or Lights Motors Actions - they are both really cool!)
The Great Movie Ride
The Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

Other things:
The Backlot Tour - I'm not a huge fan of it. It is not bad, but it is not great.
Beauty and the Beast - a cute show, but don't worry if you miss it.
Fantasmic - with your limited time, I wouldn't worry if you have to miss it, yes it is different from ours, but you might prefer to spend all of the waiting time doing other stuff, like seeing more of the Magic Kingdom. Overall, I also think our Fantasmic is better.)

If you can go to the Magic Kingdom:
Do if you can:
Stitch's Great Escape
TTA (ahh People Mover memories)
Monster's Inc laugh factory??? I haven't seen it.
Mickey's Philharmagic
Space Mountain (Remember ours before music? It is eerily quiet!)

Don't Worry if you miss:
Haunted Mansion (almost identical, except an extra room at the beginning)
Hall of Presidents (interesting, but you don't have too much time in the parks.)
Jungle Cruise - although this version is kinda cool - and has a temple scene at the end that we don't)
Buzz Lightyear
Snow White
Peter Pan

*** If you do go to the Magic Kingdom at night, try to see Spectromagic!!!

Wow, longer then I anticipated! Anyway, these are just what I enjoy when I visit. Have a great time!

Re: What Should I Do On My First Trip?

Since the Haunted Mansion will have just been refurbished, I would highly reccomend that at MK. I would also recommend skipping Monsters Inc and Stitch as those rides are not praised too highly and riding Splash instead.

Re: What Should I Do On My First Trip?

Go to MGM and ride the "real" Tower of Terror, not the chepo version we have out here in Anaheim. Then take the Water Ferry from MGM studios to Epcot explore Epcot and go on Journey into the Imagination....seriously!

IMO there really isn't anything at Animal Kingdom you can't do at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, with the exception of E. Everest. it's a half day park at best.

-"Enjoy the rest of your stay here at Disneyland, where all of your dreams come true...well except for two of them, short lines and cheap food."